The Unknown Son
by Protego Totalum
Summary: Jericho Slyder; orphan, werewolf, constantly returned by his adopted families because of it. Starting Hogwarts at thirteen, he has no idea what his relation to the new DADA teacher is. Hogwarts, you're in for a hell of a year.
1. Prologue

**Hello all! Welcome to my first HP story, The Unknown Son. The plot, prologue and part of the first chapter is by Bloody Phantom, and I took over from there! I hope you enjoy!**

**Rating: T for safety**

**Warnings: Language later on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Nor do I own this chapter, it is owned by Bloody Phantom, along with the plot.**

September 1979

"Your sister hates me," Remus said, leaning against the doorway watching as his girlfriend packed for her trip to Greece.

Monica Macbeth laughed as she pushed her dark brown hair away from her face. "I know which is why I am going and you are not." She zipped up her bag. She walked over and placed it next to her other luggage. She leaned up and kissed him.

Remus breathed in her scent and that odd smell was still there. It wasn't unpleasant, just odd and different. He didn't know what it meant, but it made him want to hold her into his arms, protectively and never let go. For some reason for the last four months, Remus had this overly protective urge to keep her within his sight, dot on her every whim. He didn't know how to describe the feeling in words. It seemed like she was carrying something precious, but he knew she wasn't and it confused him. The fact that she was going to be gone for months bothered him…a lot. "How long do you plan on staying?" he asked once she pulled away. Another thing he'd noticed. In the last month, every time Remus tried to hold her close, she would pull away. They haven't even had intercourse in two months. She kept her distance and Remus feared she would leave him. That was the only thing holding him back from asking her hand in marriage. If she was having second thoughts, there was no reason to make parting harder for her. In realty, he was surprised she stayed with him for this long. They've been together for three years now, the longest he ever had been with anyone.

She rolled her eyes. "I've told you, Remus, I don't know. My sister is having a baby and she is husbandless and boyfriendless. I'm most likely going to be staying for her whole pregnancy and then some to help her settle." She caressed his cheek and looked lovingly into his eyes. "I'll be back. I promise."She pecked his lips again before picking up her bags. Remus moved to help her. He followed her outside and they stuffed the luggage into the muggle taxi. "I'll write as much as possible," she continued to say. "I might even sneak in a floo or two." She chuckled, knowing the likelihood of that happening was very slim.

"I doubt that would happen," Remus said with grin. Monica's sister, Brandi, was a squib. She had this bitter, jealous attitude towards magic now; which was why Monica was flying by muggle plane to get to Greece.

Before she stepped into the car, Monica turned towards him and kissed him. "I love you, Remus," she said tenderly. "So very much."

Remus kissed her again. "I love you too, Monica."

She smiled and stepped into the car. Remus closed the door and stared at her through the window. She blew him a kissed just before the car drove off. He watched the car drive away with a horrible feeling deep in his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to stop his girlfriend from going on her trip. He had a very bad feeling about it, but he had already fought with her a few times about going and knew he couldn't say anything to change her mind. The uncomfortable feeling grew, but he shook it off. She was much safer going to Greece to her sister then staying in London with Voldemort out and about killing people.

October 1979

Remus stared at Lily as she moved around in the kitchen. There was a familiar smell about her the past few days. It reminded him of Monica, except less intense and strong, but he still felt like he had to protect her, like she was carrying something precious. It confused him. It wasn't there a week ago when he last saw her.

"How's Monica, Remus?" Lily asked, bring him back to earth.

He shook himself from his thoughts and looked down at the latest letter his girlfriend sent. "She's doing quite fine. Said her sister has become very unpredictable and been getting these mood swings and cravings for the oddest foods."

Sirius laughed. "That is why I would never settle down. Pregnant woman are vicious and moody." He shivered at the thought. He looked at his best mate sitting next to him. "You're going to have to deal with that sometime, Prongs. Yours would be worst than normal."

James looked offended. "How so?"

"Your wife has that red haired temper," Sirius answered. Lily hit him across the head and the others laughed.

February 1980

The four friends were hanging out at Remus' house for some men time, actually James just wanted to get away from his very pregnant wife and Remus wanted to get his mind off his girlfriend, who hadn't owled in over a week. They were currently sitting around his kitchen table with firewhiskey and photo albums, laughing over the pictures and remembering the stories behind them. It was one the rare times where they forget about Voldemort and the possibility of a spy in the Order.

"Mates! Look at this!" Sirius shoved one of the albums in front of them and pointed to one of the pictures. "Our first successful prank!"

James looked at the photo of the Hogwarts professors sitting at the Head Table with animal heads and shook his head. "This wasn't our first one. I remember many more before this prank, Pad."

"This was our first successful prank on the professors though," he pointed out.

"And the first time I got caught and got a week of detention," Remus said, remembering the look of disappointment on Professor McGonagall's face.

James laughed. "That's right and if I remember correctly it was Wormtail's first time getting in trouble for a prank as well," he said, looking over at the blushing Peter.

A clicking sound from the window distracted them from the photos. Remus jumped up, "Monica!" He quickly opened the window and allowed the owl to fly in.

Sirius shook his head. "You are completely head over heels for this girl, Moony. Why don't you ask her to marry you already?"

"And don't you use the 'werewolf' excuse, mate," James said, sternly. It had always bothered him that Remus would let the fact he was a werewolf keep him from finding happiness with someone. "She obviously doesn't care about that since she knew for two and a half years and she is still with you," he pointed out.

Remus took the letter and set aside a bowl of water for the owl before sitting back down next to Peter. He sighed. "I do plan on asking her alright! I even have the ring," he said, nervously. Not only was the idea of asking for her hand making him nervous, but the reaction of his friends. They meant everything to him. If they were against his decision then he would not marry her, they meant that much to him.

"Congratulation, mate!"James said with a huge smile.

"It's about time you tie the knot!" Sirius congratulated him.

"She's prefect for you, Moony," Peter said.

Remus smiled, glad to have his friends support. "Thanks, mates. That means a lot. I just hope she'll say yes."

"Why wouldn't she?" Peter asked, confused.

Remus shrugged his shoulders and looked down. "She was…acting odd before she left." He didn't know how to explain the lack of intimate contact.

"Odd? How? I thought everything was going just perfect between you two?" James asked.

"She would push me away, I guess. Physically push me away, like she didn't want me to touch her."

"Ouch," Sirius said. "Bummer, Mate. No sex? That's harsh." The three of them threw him a dirty look. "What? It is!"

"I think she was getting tired of the relationship, like she wanted something new." This was the first time he mentioned this fear that slowly grew inside him those last few months before she left on her trip.

"Maybe it's not what you think," James started to say. "Maybe, she was getting tired of waiting for you to pop the question. Maybe, since you haven't popped the question, she thought you were second thinking the relationship," he pointed out.

Peter nodded. "Yeah, that sounds more plausible. We all can clearly see she loves you, Moony."

"You won't know for sure until you ask," Sirius said.

Remus smiled at them, glad for their support. "Thanks, Mates."

"Well, what does your future bride say this time?" Sirius asked.

He rolled his eyes. "I haven't asked her yet. I have to wait for her to get back first." He opened the letter, well aware of his friend's eyes upon him. The first thing he noticed about the letter was the handwriting. It wasn't Monica's handwriting. He looked down at the end of the letter to see the name. "It's not from Monica."He looked up at his friends. "It's from Brandi."

"Brandi?" Peter asked.

"Her sister." Remus stood up. He had a bad feeling about this. Why would Brandi, who hated him and magic, send him a letter and not Monica? "Excuse me." He quickly left the room to read the letter privately.

His three friends waited in the kitchen. "Why would Brandi send a letter?" Sirius asked. "I never met her, but I certainly heard about her enough times to know this is odd." James nodded in agreement.

They waited a little while longer in silence before Peter spoke up. "It shouldn't take this long to read a letter."

"We'll give him a few more minutes before we go check on him," James said, wanting to give his friend a bit more time for himself.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Sirius spoke up.

"I do too," James agreed.

Another minute or two later, James stood up. "I'm going to check on him." He left the kitchen and made his way to Remus' bedroom. The door was already opened a crack and he can see the back of Remus sitting on the bed, the letter laid next to him. Even from this angle, he can tell something was up. Remus' shoulders where slouched, like he had no strength left in them. James pushed the door opened and walked in, cautiously. "Remus?" he said softly.

Remus looked up and James can see he was holding a small opened black box with a small diamond ring in it. The ring was beautiful. It was silver with a heart shaped diamond in the center with three smaller circular diamonds on either side of it. There were tears in his eyes and he looked so burdened and sorrowful. James stepped closer. "What's wrong, mate?"

Remus looked back at the ring and touched it lightly with his thumb before looking back at James and said painfully, "She's gone." He said it so quietly it was hard to hear, but hear it, James did.

He sat next to his friend. "What? Gone, as in left you for another man?" Remus shook his head, but didn't say anything. James reached across him and picked up the letter.

_Dear Lupin, _

_I am currently putting aside my hate to inform you about my sister, Monica. She loved you very much, so much it was sickening, and that is the only reason I am doing this. If she didn't love you so much I wouldn't have bothered, but I regret to say my sister…_It was hard to read through the dried up tear marks, but, after a struggle, James managed to see the word and, when he did, he wished he didn't…died_ two days ago in a hit and run…_

James stopped reading from there. The letter fell from his hands. "Remus…" He didn't know what to say. He placed a hand on his shoulders and Remus fell into his embraced. He began crying his eyes out for the lost of his love.


	2. The Train Ride

**My writing starts in this chapter; I'll let you know when my part starts.**

**I took some quotes from the book, seeing as some of the dialogue was in the book. Page 65, 66 and 67, if you were wondering. From Prisoner of Azkaban, obviously.**

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and its characters. Jericho, the plot and a part of this chapter is owned by Bloody Phantom.**

**Chapter One; The Train Ride**

Thirteen year old, Jericho Slyder opened his book and began reading, disregarding the meeting with the Headmaster. His newly appointed foster parents had adopted him a week ago and brought him to Scotland to register him into Hogwarts. He knew from past experiences that there was no chance of him entering Hogwarts or any magical school. Not in the United Kingdom anyway. Two years ago he managed to enter a Romanian school, but then his foster parents decided they didn't want to deal with a werewolf anymore and gave him back. He was use to such behavior. It happened at least eight times within his life time, the other times the parents saw that he was a werewolf and picked another kid. It was a good thing his mother gave him up for adoption at a Greek orphanage instead of a British one. He would have been thrown to the streets then.

It was just one of his theories that it was his mother who gave him up. Jericho wasn't bitten by a werewolf, so he must have been born one. In his mind, his mother didn't know his father was werewolf (or she was raped, which was more likely, but he didn't want to think of himself as a product of rape). When she realized his father was a werewolf, she left him. Then she realized she was pregnant, so gave him up as soon as he was born. It was the best theory he came up with and that was what he told people when they asked.

He sighed, causing a piece of light brown hair fell from its place on his head. The boy glared at it with amber eyes, as if daring it to try that again before pushing it back into place with his left hand. Jericho was slightly pale and thin scars marred his skin. The rare times when he went into public, muggle place, he used glamours as to not attract unwanted attention. Around full moons, heavy bags formed under his eyes, but he was yet to grow any grey hairs, for which he was thankful for. He always found teenagers with grey hair rather odd.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr. Slyder!"

The sentence caught Jericho off guard. He looked up from his book at the old grandfatherly Headmaster. He must have been pulling his chain. Why would a United Kingdom Headmaster accept him into his school? They were the most prejudice against werewolves. "But I'm a werewolf, sir," was the first sentence he managed to blurt out.

The Headmaster chuckled. "I know, Mr. Slyder. You would not be the first werewolf to pass these walls."

Jericho didn't remember reading anything about a werewolf coming to Hogwarts. He can imagine something like that would be all over the news. "I don't remember hearing about that, sir," he said, thinking it might be possible he was being lied too.

"We kept it from the other students and Ministry, Mr. Slyder. I believe every child should have a chance at a good education, no matter what. That student went through his seven years here without much problem. As a matter of fact, he is teaching here this year. If you have any questions or issues dealing with keeping your secret from other students then you may go to him."

The thought of talking to another werewolf, one that lived through school hiding his secret from everyone, was appalling to Jericho. He never civilly spoke to another werewolf. Most of them were wild. One that went through school would be tame and worth talking to. But talking to an adult? He was never comfortable talking to adults. He was disappointed by so many of them. Taking him then throwing him back as soon he becomes 'too difficult' or right after a full moon.

"Listen to me, Jericho. I want you to stay out of trouble. The Headmaster is risking a lot to let you go to school," his adopted father, Mr. Dan Slyder, said sternly.

Jericho nodded half heartedly. He didn't really care for these parents. It made him wish he was able to choose to go back into the System and pick new ones, or not pick any at all. His 'new' parents adopted him only three weeks ago and they are sending him to boarding school right away. It's like they didn't want to take care of him. They wanted a son but they didn't want to deal with a son.

Without hugs or kisses, Jericho left the Slyders standing on the platform and went on to the train. He stared down the corridor at all the compartments, watching as old students greeted one another and sat in compartments they've been sitting in for years. He closed his eyes and breathed in. It was a calming technique he developed. It helped him indentify his surroundings, to see if there were any threats of any kind around and get familiar with those close around him. Something in the air caught his attention. He didn't know how to describe it, but it was nonthreatening. It was peaceful and calming…protective. Jericho opened his eyes and slowly made his way down the corridor, allowing his instinct to take over.

He came to a compartment near the back of the train and stopped. With a heavily beating heart, he slowly opened the door. There was a man there, leaning against the window. A coat covered him like a blanket and his eyes were closed. He breathed deeply in sleep. Jericho stepped quietly into the compartment. He felt safer here then out there; which was weird since he didn't like strangers…or adults…and there was one sleeping in the compartment.

He sat across from the man and stared at him. The man looked exhausted. It was no wonder he was taking this time to sleep. Jericho, himself, was tired because the full moon was only in a few days. He breathed in the man's scent, trying to get a sense of how trustworthy the man might be. There was something off about his scent. Jericho eyes widen when he realize just what was different. He sensed it before on many other wild men. He eyed the sleeping professor. He was a werewolf. The werewolf the Headmaster must have talked about during the meeting. Is that why Jericho felt calm in his presence? He shook his head. No, it couldn't be. Jericho had been around werewolves before. If anything, it made him feel uptight and aware, not really threatened, but just…prepared. Prepared to run or fight. Of course those werewolves weren't tamed. They were wild ones. This one would be more tamed, being around 'normal' humans for who knew how long. Maybe that made a difference. Perhaps, he was calm because his sixth sense knew this werewolf would not harm him. Whatever it was, it was a nice change. Jericho had always been uptight around anyone. It came with being a lonely orphan since birth.

Suddenly, the compartment door slid opened and Jericho found himself looking at three kids around his own age; two boys and a girl. "Oh!" the girl gasped in surprised. "We're sorry." She stepped into the compartment. "Do you mind if we sit here with you?" she asked.

Jericho shrugged his shoulders and turned away. The girl seemed nice enough, but they were always nice at first…and then they find out. That was what it was like here in the United Kingdom. He'd been here twice before when he was six and then later when he was ten. He tried to make friends both times and thought he succeed until they found out he was a werewolf. To distract himself from his thoughts, he pulled out his book from his luggage that sat on the seat next to him, preventing anyone from sitting to close to him.

The three other students sat awkwardly, stealing glances at Jericho and the professor. He ignored them and continued to focus on his book.

"So, Harry, you wanted to tell us something?" the red haired boy asked, awkwardly.

The black haired boy gave Jericho a side glance before turning his attention back to the red head. He shook his head. "I'll tell you two later."

Jericho rolled his eyes, realizing he was stopping a private conversation from taking place. He slammed his book shut, startling the other students, and placed it back in his trunk. "I'll be back in ten minutes or so. If anyone touches my trunk you'll be sorry," he threatened as he got up. He headed for the compartment door, but stopped before opening it. He knew from experience that when you threaten someone, they usually test you, see if you're serious in your threat, but believing you aren't. There are times, regrettably, when the nice approach had better results. He turned back to the three curious schoolmates. "Please, don't touch my trunk. Everything I own is in there and it's very personal to me." Although, his adopted parents gave him a room and many clothes and toys (in which, he will never even touch) that he left at their house, everything in his trunk was what he carried with him from family to family and home to home.

The black haired kid…Harry, was it?...nodded. "We won't. Promise."

Oddly enough, Jericho had a sense that the kid understood. Was he an orphan as well, carrying all his personal stuff everywhere he went? Or was he just the type that couldn't stand to be away from his precious things, so, tries to carry as much of it around? Something told him the boy's story closer matched the former then the latter. "Thanks." He said, leaving the compartment.

He didn't really need to use the restroom. So, he didn't know what to do with himself now. For the next twenty minutes found Jericho walking up and down the train corridor. By the time twenty minutes have passed he figured they should be done with their private conversation. And if not…oh well. He was not spending another minute out in the hall. He headed back to his compartment.

The girl cut off mid-sentence when Jericho opened the compartment door. By the annoyed and frustrated looks, he knew they weren't done talking, but…as said before…he was not spending another minute in the corridor. He was nice enough to leave in the first place. He decided when to come back, not them. He ignored them and made his way back to his seat. He could feel their eyes on him, but he kept his eyes down, focusing on getting his book out of his trunk. He slouched in his seat and opened the book.

"Hermione Granger."

Jericho looked up from his book and saw the girl holding her hand out. He quickly analyzed the situation. Here was a girl offering the first step to friendship. He could either be rude and deny her offer or respond and have her think he wanted to become friends. However, this time was different then the other times. Usually, he would deny any offer of friendship. He was never around long enough to keep them anyhow. This time, though, he would surely be here until, at least, the end of the school year. In other schools, having a werewolf became too stressful for the headmasters or headmistresses. They would, _kindly_, ask for him to be homeschooled or change schools. That was usually when his foster parents got rid of him. This time, however, was different. Hogwarts already had a werewolf attend seven years of school and that werewolf was now teaching. Something told him, he would be able to spend a full year at one school. That would be almost nine and a half months. He would be able to keep friends around for once. It would be unavoidable. Nine and a half months of sleeping in the same dorm room, getting friends were bound to happen. But did he want to be friends with the three kids sitting with him? Was that what he wanted?

Making a decision, Jericho sat up. "Jericho Slyder." He didn't shake her hand. Physical contact wasn't his cup of tea and, to him, it meant friends. Shaking her hand would be like including her to be a good friend, which she was not…at least, not yet.

The girl, Granger, dropped her hand. "I haven't seen you before and you look too old to be a first year."

"I'm new." He answered bluntly.

There was a moment of silence before the red-haired kid spoke. "Ron Weasley."

Jericho nodded his greeting towards the boy and turned to the black-haired kid. If he remembered correctly the red-haired kid, Weasley, had called him Harry before.

The boy seemed to hesitate before giving Jericho what he wanted. "Harry. Harry Potter." The boy said tensely.

"Pleasure." Jericho said. Potter. Potter. Where had he heard that name? It sounded familiar. Suddenly, it hit him. "The boy that survived that death curse or whatever?" He asked. He faintly remembered hearing about him before.

Potter looked surprised, but nodded his head. "Yeah."

Jericho stared at him. "No need to look so surprise that I know." He said, rolling his eyes.

Potter gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry, it's not that. It's just…most people associate myself with Voldemort's death first and then surviving the impossible. And having it said so…casually? It's just…new."

Jericho snorted. "Like any other country cares about Lord whats-his-face." He said sarcastically. "That was Britain's problem."

"You're not from the United Kingdom?" Weasley asked.

Jericho raised an eyebrow at the red haired kid. "What gave that away?" He asked that in a so straightforward way that they couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

**This is when I start! I also added the description of Jericho up there, but… whatever!**

Weasley blinked, not sure how to respond to that. "Erm, your accent?" He meant it as a statement, but it came out as more of a question than anything else.

Jericho gave the red head a funny look before stating, "I was being sarcastic."

Potter snorted and Granger only just managed to hold in a giggle, causing Weasley to send them a nasty glare.

Sensing an incoming argument, Jericho shifted in his seat and looked out the window, zoning out the other teens' conversation. The green landscape rushed by, blurring together with the brown of the tree bark and the blue of the sky. Letting the sight of the nature calm him, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift into the world of unconsciousness.

What seemed like the next moment, his eyes snapped open. He heard the voices of the others in the cabin- there were more people than before, five or six by the sound of it. Something was wrong, that much the boy could tell. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating, trying to hear the sound of the train, but there was no noise. The train wasn't moving. Why?

Trying to access the problem further, he looked at the other people in the compartment. The werewolf teacher seemed to be asleep still, but that may be a ruse, Potter, Granger, Weasley, a red haired girl and a blonde, round faced boy all looked worried, nervous and scared, their eyes darting around, seeming to look for something.

_'But why are they... Oh. The lights are all off. Thank Merlin for enhanced eye sight.' _Jericho thought while also noticing that the temperature seemed to have dropped.

Over the frantic voices of the kids, a hoarse voice broke through. "Quiet!"

An odd calmness washed through him as he heard the voice and _Jericho didn't like it._ Not that he didn't like the feeling itself, but he didn't know why he felt this way around the teacher and the boy hated not knowing thing in general, let alone about himself. Though it was an issue that he had to live with, seeing as his whole past was a mystery.

Jericho saw the professor- Professor R. J. Lupin, according to his briefcase, he noted- hold out his hand and mutter something softly under his breath. A small flame ignited in his hand, filling the cabin with flickering light. The flame illuminated his tired face and few grey hairs, all common for an adult werewolf.

Professor Lupin's eyes quickly scanned the cabin, resting on Potter and himself for an extra moment. He suspected it was due to Potter's fame and Lupin recognizing Jericho as a werewolf.

"Stay where you are," he said in the same hoarse yet calming voice. He stood slowly and reached towards the door.

Before he could reach it, the door slid open.

Standing there, the red of the flame illuminating its features, was a tall, cloaked figure. It's face was hidden by the hood and a grey, slimy and scabbed hand was protruding from the cloak.

Jericho recognized it from one of his text books. A Dementor. Why was a Dementor, a guard of Azkaban, on a train full of kids?

That was his last thought before an overwhelming coldness overtook his body, sending him into shivers. In the back of his mind, he realized what was happening; the Dementor was forcing him to relive his worst memory.

Pain. The pain of his body changing, the bones moving and repositioning, fur pushing through his skin, claws slowly growing from his hands. A strangled moan escaped his throat.

Then it was over. He opened his eyes to see a white ball of light pushing the Dementor away and Professor Lupin holding out his wand towards it.

"A patronus," he muttered to himself. He made a mental note to learn how to do that.

"Harry! Harry! Are you alright?" A female voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He looked to the ground of the compartment and saw Potter laying there, appearing to just wake up. His friends were hovering above him, looking at him with worry clear in their eyes. Jericho grimaced, realizing what The-Boy-Who-Lived must have relived and understanding at once why he has passed out.

"W-what?" Said boy asked groggily.

Potter opened his bright green eyes, blinking at the light. He slowly reached up to his face and pushed his glasses back into position. The ginger and red head pulled him back into his seat.

"Are you OK?" Weasley asked nervously.

Jericho, once again, ignored them and focused on his own thoughts. Why would a Dementor be on the Hogwarts express? The guard prisons, not children! He narrowed his eyes in concentration, scanning his mind for anything that would explain their presence. The picture of a newspaper popped into his mind. A man with shaggy black hair was on the front page. Sirius Black.

Jericho had seen the paper a few days ago, and with nothing better to do, he had scanned through it absentmindedly. He suppose it made sense, sending guards to keep the kids safe, but… why Dementors of all things? That's just-

_Snap._

He jumped slightly, looking at Lupin, who had a large slab of chocolate in his hand and was snapping it into pieces.

"Here," he said, handing Potter a rather large piece of the brown treat. "Eat it. It'll help."

The boy took the chocolate but didn't eat it. With all the people that must be after The-Boy-Who-Lived's blood, Jericho wasn't surprised that he was suspicious of a stranger's food. Even if, for some inexplicable reason, Jericho- the King of Not Trusting- trusted the man.

"What was that thing?" Potter asked Lupin.

"A Dementor," said the teacher, who was now giving chocolate to everyone else, including Jericho. The boy sniffed the piece of candy imperceptibly. It had no funny smell, so it wasn't poisoned or laced with any sort of potion. Normally, Jericho wouldn't have had any anyway, but that damned feeling the man gave him… He took a bite of the chocolate. "One of the Dementors of Azkaban."

Weasley, Granger and the two newcomers stared at him with wide, horrified eyes, having likely read about them somewhere, while Potter just looked more confused. Professor Lupin crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket.

"Eat," he repeated, looking at Potter. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…"

He s stepped past them all and disappeared into the corridor.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" said the bushy haired witch, watching Potter anxiously.

Not wanting to have to listen to the other teenagers worry over Potter, Jericho rose from his seat and made his way to the door. He had opened the door and was about to walk away when a voice called from behind him.

"Jericho, wait!"

He turned to see Potter standing up and looking at him. He raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"I'll see you later, alright?" He asked innocently, holding out his hand.

Jericho looked into his eyes and blinked. _'So, we're already on first name basis then?'_ He thought absentmindedly. Going over the same thoughts he had when he had first introduced himself, the brown haired boy reached out his arm, taking P-Harry's hand in his own and shaking it lightly.

"Of course… Harry." He replied, pausing slightly before saying his name, as he had been thinking of him as 'Potter' the whole train ride.

After retracting his hand, he nodded goodbye to the others and left, hoping to find a quite compartment to think about all that had just happened.

**You like? How was my writing? Huh? HUH? REVIEW, I DEMAND IT!**

***cough***

**Erm… I mean… Please review, you know, if you have time… and stuff…**


	3. The Sorting

**Hello again! Again, some dialogue is taken from the books (such as McGonagall's and Dumbledore's welcome speech and the Sorting Hat's song), but I try to avoid that as much as I can, so… Yeah.**

**Thanks you cookyc, samsyrra (),CharmedandTwilight31, egyptian1995, BloodyPhantom and lettheloveflow fir the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Harry Potter**_**, J.K. Rowling does. BloodyPhantom owns Jericho and the idea for the story.**

**Listening to: Pumped Up Kicks – Foster The People, I'd Lie – Taylor Swift and Just A Dream – Cover by Sam Tsui & Christina Grimmie  
>(Just in case you wanted to know some good songs :P)<strong>

Standing on the gravel ground, Jericho ignored the loud conversations of the kids around him, walking around a curb with a group of people considerately smaller than him. A large man with wild black hair who, had he heard correctly, was called Hagrid, had sought him out and told him that he would be entering the school with the first years- a standard way of entry for new students. As he had already been in the school for his registration, the boy didn't understand fully why this was necessary, but he decided not to argue.

"Oohhh!" The sound seemed to come from all the first years and Jericho found himself looking up at the breathtaking castle that was Hogwarts.

Not that he would voice his opinion as the eleven year olds did, but Hogwarts really was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. With the sparkling black lake, the high mountain on the other side and the many windows that reflected the starry sky and vast amount turrets and towers, the stone castle truly was a sight to behold. Especially when Jericho compared it to his last school, which had been a medium castle made of black marble, spiked fences, pointed towers and tinted windows, making it look more like a fancy prison than a school.

"No more'n four per boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a line of small boats sitting in the water by the shore.

Jericho stepped into a boat with two girls and a boy, who he later learnt were named Romilda Vane, Astoria Greengrass and Kyle Nudds.

After verifying that everybody was in a boat, the huge man called "Forward!" and all the boats moved as one, gliding across the lake and towards the castle.

The girl in front of him turned around, her brown hair shifting slightly in the wind and said, "Hello. I'm Astoria, Astoria Greengrass. And you are?"

Looking into the girl's light brown eyes, Jericho saw no ill intent, so he answered truthfully, "Jericho Slyder." He had no desire to make too many friends here- he never liked popularity- so he purposely made his answer short, giving no details.

Greengrass nodded and gave him a one-over, raising an eyebrow. "A bit tall for a first year, hmm?"

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid before he could answer. The first boats had reached a cliff and they all bent their heads as the little boats carried them through a curtain of greenery that hid a wide opening in the cliff face.

"I'm starting late. Third year." He replied after they raised their heads again.

The girl nodded again and turned away, looking around.

The boats carried them through a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they stepped out of the boats and onto a floor of rocks and pebbles.

Hagrid checked the boats as people climbed out of them, making sure they were secure. Jericho looked around the shipyard, taking in the dark stone and ropes hanging on the walls.

Hagrid starting walking, knowing the students would follow. They walked through a passageway in the rock, exiting onto damp grass in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a small flight of stone steps and stood around the huge, oak front door, Jericho standing at the back of the group. Hagrid knocked on the door three times and the wooden doors swung open, revealing a tall woman in dark green robes.

"Here 'r the firs' years, Professor McGonagall." The giant said while leading them into the entrance hall. The light colored stone walls were lit with flaming gold torches, the ceiling too high to see, and a beautiful marble staircase leading away from them led to the upper floors.

"Thank you, Hagrid. You may go to your post at the head table; I'll take it from here." The woman- Professor McGonagall- responded.

Hagrid walked away, pushing open the doors to what must have been the Great Hall and walked inside, the doors closing behind him. When the doors were open, many loud voices carried through and Jericho winced slightly, hoping not all meals would be as loud, as his sensitive hearing may not let him survive the year if they were.

The stern looking professor led them into a small room off the hall that was empty besides the people currently inside. Jericho leaned against the wall, not wanting to be too close to the nervous, sweaty first years that needlessly crowded together. He had the urge to sneer, but restrained himself, not wanted to appear snobbish, as he was sure it would cause him to.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall, drawing Jericho out of his thoughts. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

"Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

She gave Kyle Nudds, the boy from his boat, a pointed look and Jericho noticed that his black robes had a gummy worm sticking out of the pocket. This time, he couldn't stop a small sneer from finding its way to his face. Idiot.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

After she left, the first years started muttering to each other and Jericho ignored them, losing himself in his thoughts. Again.

He had read about the Hogwart's Houses and was curious about where the famed Sorting Hat would place him. He knew that he wouldn't be in Hufflepuff; he wasn't overly patient and he honestly hated working. He'd rather persuade someone else into doing it for him. That brought him to another house: Slytherin. Jericho was cunning and ambitious, as he had proved multiple times; he could easily see himself in Slytherin.

Ravenclaw was for the intelligent and the witty, which he was a well. The only problem with Raveclaw is that he wasn't a fan of studying. He memorizes things easily and he saw no point to studying things he already knows or that will never come up in real life. As for Gryffindor, he was brave, but Gryffindors were also known for their boldness and Jericho was anything but bold. He was sneaky and liked to fly under the radar; not bold.

"Get ready," said a sharp voice, pulling him out of his thoughts for the Merlin-knows-how-many-th time that day. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had come back and was gazing at them through her spectacles.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Jericho pushed himself off the wall and stood at the end of the line, having been told by Dumbledore beforehand that he would be called up after the first years were sorted.

It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting.

McGonagall pushed open the double doors with one long-fingered hand and led them into the Great Hall.

Thousands of candles floated above tables that were covered with shining golden plates and goblets. At the end of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the group forward so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of students looked over the first years and most stopped at him, giving him a look of confusion. Dotted here and there among the students, ghosts shone misty silver. Ignoring the staring, Jericho looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. It was charmed to look like that, according to _Hogwarts, a History_, which he had read a few weeks before boarding the train, not wanting to know less about the school than the other third years.

He looked down and saw McGonagall place a stool in front of the line of new students and placed a pointed wizard's hat on top of it- the Sorting Hat. Jericho nearly grimaced at the state of the hat. The pictures of it in _Hogwarts, a History_ must have been taken years ago; it looked much cleaner in the book.

The hat twitched slightly and opened up in the middle. Jericho smirked, having read about what was about to happen and knowing how much it would shock the majority of the first years. As he knew it would, the hat started to sing.

"_Oh you may not think me pretty,  
>But don't judge on what you see,<br>I'll eat myself if you can find  
>A smarter hat than me.<br>You can keep your bowlers black,  
>Your top hats sleek and tall,<br>For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
>And I can cap them all.<br>There's nothing hidden in your head  
>The Sorting Hat can't see,<br>So try me on and I will tell you  
>Where you ought to be.<em>

_You might belong in Gryffindor,  
>Where dwell the brave at heart,<br>Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
>Set Gryffindors apart;<br>You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
>Where they are just and loyal,<br>Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
>And unafraid of toil;<br>Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
>if you've a ready mind,<br>Where those of wit and learning,  
>Will always find their kind;<br>Or perhaps in Slytherin  
>You'll make your real friends,<br>Those cunning folks use any means  
>To achieve their ends.<em>

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
>And don't get in a flap!<br>You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
>For I'm a Thinking Cap!"<em>

The first years were mostly shocked and looked at each other incredulously and the rest of the students and the teachers clapped, the loudest coming from the red and gold table. Gryffindors. As Jericho had thought before, they were the boldest.

After the applause settled down, Professor McGonagall stepped forward while holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," She stated. She then unfurled the parchment and read the first name, "Alpore, Christopher!"

A short boy with spiky, sandy blonde hair stepped forward nervously and sat on the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on his head and it fell past his eyes. There was a moment's hesitation before it cried, "RAVENCLAW!"

The hat was lifted from the boy head and, looking relived, he walked to the blue and bronze table that was occupied by kids who were clapping politely.

Jericho ignored the rest of the sorting; only paying attention when the three kids from his boat were sorted. Astoria Greengrass was placed into Slytherin, Kyle Nudds went to Hufflepuff and Romilda Vane received cat-calls from some students when she walked sensually to the Gryffindor table. Jericho hadn't even known that an eleven year old _could_ walk sensually.

Instead of paying attention to that, he was looking at the staff table, taking in their appearances and putting names to the faces. He had received- believe it or not- a pamphlet from Hogwarts and knew who was who, but you can never judge someone by a picture. Their appearances in real life gave a much better gist as to how they acted.

He looked for the teachers whom he had classes with along and found them easily. Most looked normal enough, but Professor Snape seemed to exude an air of darkness- not evil, just… dark. Also, Professor Babbling looked rather odd, along with Trelawney. He had decided to take Ancient Runes and Astronomy as his electives, so he supposed that Trelawney's attitude didn't really matter.

After observing the staff, he let his eyes slide to the Gryffindor table, looking for his new friends. Well, he was only on first name basis with one, so he supposed it was friend rather than friend_s_. Looking at the table, he saw Weasley, but Granger and Harry were absent. Thinking about where they could be, he figured that Harry must have gone to the Hospital Wing.

Turning his attention back to the sorting, he realized with a start that the last first year was being sorted and that he was getting even more funny looks than before. The student- Mika Vex- was placed in Ravenclaw, and Dumbledore rose to speak to the school. Jericho stood alone in the middle of the room.

"Hello everyone," Said the Headmaster, his voice echoing through the hall. '_He must have used a wordless version of sonorus.' _Jericho thought."As you can see, we have a new student this year that is not in First Year. He is a transfer student, coming to us from experţi academy in Romania. He has yet to be sorted and he will be placed into a House right now." Turning his twinkling blue eyes to Jericho, he said, "Please welcome Jericho Slyder."

There was applause from the hall, most smiling at him. They all seemed quite content with him being here now that they knew why. The Slytherins clapped, but did not smile- unsurprisingly.

Taking Dumbledore's speech as her queue, McGonagall stepped forward and said, "Slyder, Jericho." More from tradition than by need, he figured.

Jericho stepped forward, his head held high, and sat on the wooden stool. He felt the pressure of the hat being placed on his head and straighten slightly.

'_Well, well, well, a transfer student!_' A voice echoed through his mind. '_Hello Mr. Slyder.'_

'_Hello Mr. Hat.'_

'_Oh, and he has a sense of sarcasm! Wonderful! You know, boy, it'd be a lot easier to sort you if you lowered your occlumency shields.' _

'_Oh… Right.' _He lowered the shields in question and let the hat scan his mind. He had studied occlumency and build his shields the previous year, not wanted nosy witches and wizards to know his deepest secrets.

'_Oh, a werewolf!' _Jericho mentally flinched, not wanted to discuss this. Ever. _'Oh, I don't mean that in a bad way Mr. Slyder, it's just interesting, hmm? That the second werewolf to ever attend Hogwarts starts here the same year that the first is teaching? A great coincidence.' _

'_Mhm.' _The teen mentally hummed his agreement.

'_In any case, let us continue with your sorting. I see you've already given it much thought, and I must say I agree with you, though I must add this. Slytherins are well-known for their secrets and you hold more secrets than most Slytherins… That said, I think you know where you belong. I hope you enjoy…' _"SLYTHERIN!"

The hat was removed and the green and silver table burst into applause, obviously pleased to have the transfer student. The other houses looked disappointed, but nonetheless, clapped politely. Jericho walked confidently to the Slytherin table. He sat down near the end, hoping that he would be left alone.

Seeing the doors open out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry and Granger walk in and rush to the Gryffindor table. Harry whispered a few things to Weasley and the red-head grimaced slightly before pointing at his table. Harry followed the finger and his eyes locked with Jericho's. The green eye'd boy's face fell slightly before he gave a small smile, to which Jericho responded with a smile of his own.

Dumbledore rose once again and started this year's welcome speech, bringing Jericho and Harry's attention back to him. "Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused, and Jericho could tell that he wasn't happy about this news.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises — or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, and Harry and Ron glanced at each other. "It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the Dementors," he said.

Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause.

Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with Professor Lupin clapped hard, Jericho among them. He was thankful that the man was there; if he hadn't, him and those who had been in that compartment would have surely been kissed!

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

A humongous applause followed this statement, the loudest from Harry's table and the majority of Slytherin's only clapping halfheartedly. Hagrid was cheerfully red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

Once the clapping stopped, Professor Dumbledore started speaking again.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

Food appeared on the tables as soon as Dumbledore sat down and Jericho had to stop himself from jumping. After getting over his initial shock, he smiled and reached for the roast beef, having not eaten on the train.

He had finished the roast beef, along with some fried tomatoes when a blonde boy and a group of Slytherins his age scooted down the table to talk to him.

"Slyder, huh?" Drawled the blonde boy. "I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy." Not giving Jericho time to say anything, he continued. "I've heard of the Slyders; a good, pureblood family, worthy of Slytherin. However, I didn't know the Slyders had a child, let alone a teenager."

Jericho was about to reply when another Slytherin, a girl whose nose resembled that of a pug, interrupted, "They didn't. _I _was at their Christmas party last year; it was only Mrs. and Mr. Slyder." She said snidely.

Not letting anyone else interrupt again, Jericho stated, "Last year, they didn't have a son. Now, they do. I'm adopted."

"Oh." Malfoy said, slightly surprised. "Purebloods don't usually adopt. Your real parents were purebloods, weren't they?"

"I wouldn't know," Jericho said through gritted teeth, thoroughly annoyed. "I've been in an orphanage since I was a baby."

"Why? Did your parents abandon you? Or did they die? If they abandoned you, it probably means they were muggles because wizards aren't stupid enough to ab-"

Just as Jericho was about to snap the kid's neck, a cool voice interrupted him, "That's not really any of your business, is it Malfoy?" They all turned to see who had spoken and discovered that it was the boy beside Jericho. He was tall, with strawberry blonde hair and wide, hazel eyes. "It's none of your business but his, don't you think?"

Malfoy glared at him and seemed about to retort, but a piercing glare from Jericho shut him up. Instead, he huffed and slid back to his old spot, the others following his example.

Jericho turned back to the tall boy and he responded to the werewolf's questioning look with a shrug. "Ignore Malfoy, he gives of Slytherins a bad name," He said. "Him and his gang. I'm Theodore Nott by the way- call me Theo, Theodore's an old man name."

Jericho felt a grin slip onto his face. Maybe this school would be better than he thought. Hell, it was already better than his last one. After that damn teacher had let slip he was abandoned by his mother… Well, the bullies had a great year at least. He hoped that this year would be easier to get through than his last.

But of course, hope has a way of getting shot in the face, doesn't it?

**That was the longest thing I've ever written. O.O 3, 640 words, not including the A/Ns!**

**Yes, I kept Malfoy a jerk, but Jericho can be friends with Theo! And Luna in a bit! Astoria is going to be his acquaintance, as you might have been able to tell by their interactions on the boat. Go to my profile and vote on if you want Jericho to have more friends in Slytherin and if yes, who.**

**Review! And Vote!**


	4. Author's Note

**Umm… Hi. I'm not dead, which I suppose is great. I've had exams and my computer died a total or three times. I've gotten a laptop so hopefully, nothing happens to this one! I'm on vacation now but I'll work on the next chapter whenever I can!**

**-Tabby**


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